With a positive policy impetus, Andhra Pradesh has been actively promoting the adoption of renewables. Currently, solar and wind power dominate the total installed renewable energy capacity in the state. Going forward, the state government aims to leverage its significant pumped hydro, green hydrogen and green ammonia potential, with policies for these segments already announced. At Renewable Watch’s 21st Annual Conference on Hydro Power in India, Ramana Reddy, vice-chairman and managing director, New & Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NREDCAP), discussed the current state of renewable energy deployment, the key policies driving the adoption of renewables, and the potential and progress of pumped storage projects (PSPs) in the state. Edited excerpts…
Andhra Pradesh is at the forefront of promoting renewable energy. As of December 2023, the state’s total installed renewable energy capacity stands at 9,391.95 MW, comprising 4,565.60 MW of solar, 4,096.65 MW of wind, 566.39 MW of biopower and 163.31 MW of small-hydropower capacity. The total solar capacity is further divided into 4,297.27 MW of ground-mounted solar, 179.99 MW of rooftop solar and 88.34 MW of off-grid/KUSUM components. Meanwhile, the total biopower capacity includes 378.10 MW, 105.57 MW, 53.16 MW and 29.56 MW of biomass power/baggase cogeneration, biomass cogeneration (non-baggase), waste-to-energy (WtE) and WtE (off-grid) components, respectively. The state aims to add another 9 GW of solar capacity in a few years to meet the agricultural demand, particularly to supply nine hours of power to farmers. In fact, to meet the agriculture sector’s demand, the state has set up a dedicated distribution company.
Policy initiatives
Several policy initiatives are driving the uptake of renewables in Andhra Pradesh. These include the Andhra Pradesh Renewable Energy Export Power Policy 2020 to promote large-scale renewable projects for exporting power to other states by allocating lands in potential renewable energy zones; the Andhra Pradesh Pumped Storage Hydro Power Promotion Policy 2022, aimed at promoting PSPs; and the Andhra Pradesh Green Hydrogen and Green Ammonia Policy 2023 to encourage private investments in green hydrogen projects. The state has set a target to achieve a production capacity of 0.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of green hydrogen and 2 mtpa of green ammonia in the next five years.
The Andhra Pradesh Renewable Energy Export Power Policy 2020 focuses on promoting large-scale renewable power projects for export of power to other states, exempting distribution companies in the state from the obligation to procure power. Andhra Pradesh has huge uncultivable lands in potential renewable energy zones. Under the Renewable Energy Export Policy, un-cultivatable land will be acquired from farmers by paying lease rentals of Rs 31,000 per acre per year with an escalation of 5 per cent every two years. This provision will incentivise farmers to offer their lands for setting up renewable energy projects.
NREDCAP, acting as the state nodal agency for the promotion of renewable energy projects in the state, will serve as a land aggregator for these projects. The power generated from these projects will be injected into Central Transmission Utility of India Limited.
Pumped hydro status in Andhra Pradesh
Pumped hydroelectric storage (PHS) is currently one of the most widely used forms of energy storage. PHS accounted for over 90 per cent of the world’s electricity storage at approximately 8,500 GWh in 2020. According to the International Energy Agency, the total installed PHS capacity worldwide was around 160 GW in 2021, making it the most widely deployed grid-scale storage technology. As per the Central Electricity Agency (CEA), the total energy storage requirement in India is projected to reach 73.93 GW by 2030. In addition, Andhra Pradesh is actively promoting large-scale PSPs. The total PSP potential identified in Andhra Pradesh is 42.02 GW across 49 projects. Of this, the Andhra Pradesh government has allotted 16.18 GW of PSPs to developers.
As of December 21, 2023, eight projects (4,745.60 MW) are operational in India, four projects (3,260 MW) are under construction, detailed project report (DPR) concurrence has been granted by the CEA to two projects (2,350 MW) and 47 projects (59,357 MW) are under survey and investigations. Of the above 61 projects, 23 (26,050 MW) projects are from Andhra Pradesh.
PSPs are concentrated in many different locations across the state. In the northern part of the state, near the Odisha border, there is substantial PSP potential. Meanwhile, the Penna river basin in the south holds more than 17-18 GW of PSP potential, with several PSPs identified. DPRs for more than 9 GW of PSP capacity are in the finalisation stage. Meanwhile, construction has already begun in four different locations. Two of these PSPs are being developed by Adani Green Energy Limited, the 500 MW Chitravathi PSP in Sri Sathya Sai district and the 1,000 MW Gandikota PSP in YSR district.
The other two projects are being developed by Indosol Solar Private Limited. The company is developing the massive 2,200 MW Paidipalem PSP in YSR district as an integrated project. Two projects are coming up in this space – the 1,000 MW Paidipalem North and the 1,200 MW Paidipalem East projects. The energy generated from these projects will be used to meet the captive requirements of the solar module manufacturer.
Shirdi Sai Electricals Limited is developing the 900 MW Somasila PSP project in YSR district. The project site had to be relocated as it was earlier in the vicinity of a wildlife sanctuary, which could have led to complications in getting timely approvals.
Meanwhile, DPR preparation for the 800 MW Singanamala PSP is under advanced stages. The project will be set up in Ananthapuramu district, and environmental and forest clearances are underway for this project. It is being developed by Aurobindo Realty and Infrastructure Private Limited. One of the key hurdles for these projects is the long waiting time for getting forest clearances. Even geotechnical investigations for these projects take a long time. NREDCAP has taken steps to address this issue and make the approval process less complicated for developers. Another project being developed by the same developer is the 800 MW Owk PSP in Nandyal district, for which the DPR is almost completed.
NHPC Limited and Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation Limited (APGENCO) are jointly developing the 950 MW Kamalapadu PSP in Ananthapuramu district and the 1,000 MW Yaganti PSP in Nandyal district. Recently, NHPC formed a joint venture with APGENCO for the development of 4-5 GW of PSPs in Andhra Pradesh.
Apart from PSPs, Andhra Pradesh is focusing on the large-scale adoption of green hydrogen projects, which require 24×7 renewable power supply. The state’s renewable energy export power policy facilitates the allocation of land on long-term leases to developers in potential renewable energy zones for setting up renewable energy projects, with the generated power available for export.
Further, substantial PSP capacity is coming up in the state to provide round-the-clock renewable power for green hydrogen projects. Integrated renewable energy projects are already being set up by developers. For instance, Greenko is setting up the Pinnapuram project, which includes a PSP as well as solar and wind power projects, and the project is scheduled to commence operations from April-May 2024 onwards.
As a result of these developments, many developers have expressed interest in setting up green hydrogen projects in the coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh. Some of the green hydrogen can be utilised within the domestic market by steel, fertiliser and other industries and the remaining can be exported.
